Golden State acquires Wellington-based Groenz

Feb. 5 (BusinessDesk) – Golden
State Foods, the biggest US supplier of ingredients to
fast-food giant McDonald’s, has bought Wellington-based
Groenz Group, adding sauces and condiments to a range that
includes the original Big Mac sauce.

No price or
financials were disclosed in the statement from Irvine,
California-based Golden State, which services more than
25,000 fast-food outlets around the world for some 50
companies. A PR consultant handling the release said the
private companies didn’t want to release details of the
transaction. Golden State was ranked the 73rd biggest
private company in America by Forbes, with annual revenue of
US$4.8 billion last year.

Groenz’s brands include French
Maid and Kiwi Style, and it has a business called In-House
Systems which supplies ingredients in bulk to food
manufacturers.

Its shareholders include members of the
founder Maarten Groen’s family. Managing director Fred
Groen is a former world barefoot waterskiing world champion
according to the company website, which describes the firm
as “a multi-million dollar sauce and condiment
manufacturing company.”

Golden State’s website says
the company “pioneered the one-stop-shopping concept that
forms the basis for McDonald's highly touted distribution
system." It is a “value-driven company” that believes
“in God and the dignity of all people.”

It also runs
the GSF Foundation, a non-profit organisation to help
children and families in
need.

The Wellington-based BusinessDesk team led by former Bloomberg Asian top editor Jonathan Underhill and Qantas Award-winning journalist and commentator Pattrick Smellie provides a daily news feed for a serious business audience.

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